Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-03-12
THE HENNESSY CASE.
The Sergeant. at. Arms OF the Senate is
Rearrested on Three New
Charges OF Forgery.
More Newspaper Wrappers Disposed of
than the Postmaster Handled-The
Senate Dtsmisses Him.
Special to the Gazette.

Special to the Gazette.
AUSTIN, Tex, Msrch IL Further in
yestigatiOn in the Hennessy forgery case
reveals other fraudulent acts, upon which
three new charges of forgery were based,
and he was rearrested this evening and
mis- bind PLACED at $1,000 in each case.
The prIma facia evidence is in substance
that on three distinct occasions he pur-
chased two boxes of newspaper wrappers
at $3.50 each, making SI1, and 200
stamps, 81. After procuring the post
masters receipt ne changed it as follows:
Placing ! before the = boxes,
making y boxes, and changing Sll
TO SCI, and placing l before the 200
stamps, making 1900 stamps, and before
the 81, making S24. This was repeated
three times, making an excess of $225
more than the three receipts of the post
master. The receipts of the House of
Representatives, with LOG members, for
wrappers during the month of February
were 4l,C0O. The receipts of The
Senate, with thirty members, dur
ing the same period, as shown
BY Mr.. Hennessy, were $4,000.
The two amounts added make 1000
newspaper wrappers, while the sppor-
tionment Of wrappers by the Postotlice
Department at Washington to the post
office at Austin during the month of Feb
ruary was only SO, 600 newspaper wrap
pers all told. Taking this amount from
the sum of 1000, according to the add
ed sum Of the receipts of the two houses,
it shows an excess of 81 900 more wrap
no n. n
hand during the month. These are the
facts so far developed in the last three
cases. Hennessy was dismissed from
the Senate to-day.
The following is the official transcript
Of the first case:
The defendant, having been asked If be
desired to make q voluntary statement,
and cautioned as required by law, made
the following statement;
Last Saturday evening | got leave Of
absence to visit my family in Galveston;
| left Mr.. Brewer to act for me until my
return; l turned over to him l think SIS
worth of stamps and wrappers; | told
him l thought that would do until
my return; they on!y lasted him about
day and half, and he borrowed $3.50,
which made little over $50; on my re
turnI got short and had to buy stamps
and pay the debt, and | made out an order
for 800, which was approved by Mr..
Knittle, the chairman of the contingent
fund committee, and also Senator CARR
son, acting president; IN looking over my
books found that the Senate owed me q
little over $780, in addition to the money,
$3.50: | found that | wanted and
needed about S35 worth of stamps; had
been in the habit of advancing money out
of my own pocket, as | could get it at
any time by making out an order; after
Senator Knittle approved my order
found that | needed more money than l
had drawn for; l went to find Mr.. Knit
tie, but could not do so; l wanted to
change the order to make it $3.50 in
stead CT 500; not finding him, | made
the change myself; that was yester-
day, the 9th inst. on the same day l
charged myself with the $3.50, doing it
when l made the change in the order :;
at this time the books will show that the
stamps | have purchased this week are
not credited up; | am in the habit of
making these entries on Sundays; as it
stands now the Senate is indebted to
me: | cannot tell exactly the amount;
| will state that in changing the order
had no intention Of defrauding
the state; the money was needed
by me; tue State Treasurer was about to
close his office, AMI l could not find the
chairman of the contingent fund commit
tee to get a new order, so l did the best
[ could under the circumstances, belIey-
ing :hat it would, upon explanation to
the committee, be satisfactory to them.
H. KnittIe being sworn said: |, as
officer, approve all the accounts, as they
necessarily 60 through my hands.
The witness being shown an account
said: l approved this account, but not as
it is; when | approved it it Has for 500;
| did not authorize the defendant to
change the amount, and had no knowl-
edge of it until to-day; l learned of it by
looking over the receipts from the post
office, which overbalanced my account
after this went to the Treasurer's office
t. find out the error, and found it in the
present shape; the order, as made
out, was liability for 500; as
it appears now it shows a liza
bility of $50 in excess of the
original amount; this occurred in Travis
county, Tex, on the 9th day of March,
A. D. 1887; had no occasion to look
over the books of Sergeant alarms Hen
messy; in a general way, from my knoWl-
edge or from my recollection, | do not
know whether the Senate was indebted TO
HennessY or not; l have known Hennessy
for twenty-five years; | never heard to the
contrary that he has been an honest man {;
have never known him in all my trans
actions than as an honest man; l do not
really know how the account between
the Senate and Hennessy stands; after l
found this matter out about the charge
against Hennessy l asked him for an
explanation, ard he gave NE his book
and accounts, and asked me to go through
them; this was before ANYTHING of this
came up; my reason why said that the
state was not indebted to Hennessy was
based upon the following facts:
That voucher was issued to him on
March for $50; on March 8, SI0O
again; this money was to be used for
postage for the use of the Senate; that
amount reasonably and ordinarily will
amount to, and did amount to, from S11
to Sl3 day; the vouchers speak of COW
cred four days; they were drawn for $3.50
and were raised to $500; these accounts l
approved cover two days; prior to the 4th
have memorandum of 500; from the
25th up to the 18th, seven days, 500; the
expenditure per day in the Senate was
SIl to SIS per day, for postage; it is a
fact that Senators do not go to to theISer-